Caracas

On Monday, the White House says "Venezuelan officials past and present who violate the human rights of Venezuelan citizens and engage in acts of public corruption will not be welcome here, and we now have the tools to block their assets and their use of US financial systems."

Caracas Mayor Antonio Ledezma was arrested Thursday night, accused of plotting to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro. But even in a country where political arrests are common, this latest accusation is more than just business as usual.

Venezuela is suffering through the world's highest inflation and rampant shortages of consumer goods, like milk, sugar, toilet paper — even condoms. But one thing Venezuela does have a lot of is oil. And thanks to government subsidies, it also has the cheapest gasoline in the world. But maybe not for much longer.

When Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head two years ago, the Taliban in Pakistan claimed responsibility. On Friday, the Pakistan army said it had caught a gang of 10 men behind the attack. Elsewhere in Pakistan, a new branch of al-Qaeda seems to have bungled its first attack, but wants the press coverage anyway. And a 45-story skyscraper of squatters is being cleared in Venezuela, all in this weekend's Global Scan.

The "Tower of David" in downtown Caracas is called "the world's tallest squat" because thousands of people have been living in the unfinished skyscraper. Now, the government is moving people to new housing outside the city — and many squatters have mixed feelings.

Somehow poverty abroad seems far worse than poverty in the US. Yet the statistics show 25% of all American kids live in poverty. Journalist Tamar Charney brought her early experience with poverty in Venezuela to her coverage of poverty in Detroit.

Venezuela alleges the US ambassador to Colombia plotted to destabilize and "annihilate" President Nicolas Maduro, just the latest claim in an escalating war of words between the two nations. The claim came shortly before the US House approved a measure calling for sanctions on officials in the Venezuelan government over human rights abuses.

After two months of deadly protests in his country's streets, Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro held talks yesterday with opposition leaders. Venezuela has been plagued by high inflation, shortages of basic goods, and rising crime rates. BBC journalist Daniel Padro spoke about the significance of the talks and how Venezuela is gradually changing.

There's a whole lot of drama in Venezuela surrounding the recent street demonstrations there. And not just in the streets. Lawmakers are also tangled up in some high drama. Take the case of Maria Corina Machado.

Updated

03/19/2014 - 7:15am

One of the drivers behind the Venezuelan street protests is a lack of basic consumer goods, from toilet paper to food. Now the government thinks it has a partial answer — a sort of supermarket loyalty card that it hopes will cut down on hoarding and speculation. But some critics say the idea is just creepy.

Hugo Chavez has been president of Venezuela for 12 years -- and he remains popular. But the outspoken leader of the South American country is facing the toughest challenge of his electoral career from Henrique Capriles, and it comes at a time when Chavez is battling cancer.

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez handily won re-election over the weekend. On the heels of his victory, in a speech to his supporters, he vowed the country would never return to "neo-liberal" economics and would instead deepen its embrace of socialism.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez hasn't been seen publicly since Dec. 10, when he left for Cuba and his fourth cancer surgery. Reports are he is gravely ill -- so much so that he missed his scheduled inauguration on Thursday, fueling a bit of a constitutional crisis.

Hugo Chavez led Venezuela for 14 years, building the country into the western hemisphere's sharpest critic of the United States. He nationalized businesses and governed with a populist bent. He died Tuesday in Caracas, age 58.

Hugo Chavez has been dead a week and the race to replace him is already set. In many ways it'll be a rematch of the October election Chavez won handily. But the question is whether the less fiery Nicolas Maduro can top Henrique Capriles as well.

Former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had a bristly relationship with the institutional Catholic Church in Rome, and in Caracas. So, while much of Latin America has been celebrating a South American being installed as Pope Francis, reaction in Venezuela has been muted.

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